Rolla Kent Beattie Papers, 1899-1956

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Beattie, R. Kent (Rolla Kent), 1875-1960
Title
Rolla Kent Beattie Papers
Dates
1899-1956 (inclusive)
Quantity
8.5 Linear feet of shelf space, (16 Boxes), (56,500 items)
Collection Number
Cage 318 (collection)
Summary
Correspondence and other papers of Rolla Kent Beattie regarding taxonomic investigations of Pacific Northwest plants, notes and references to literature on Northwest flora, and historical and biographical aspects of Northwest botany.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Additional Reference Guides

Northwest Botanical Manuscripts : an Indexed Register of the Papers, 1867-1957, of Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, William Conklin Cusick, Charles Vancouver Piper, Rolla Kent Beattie, and Harold St. John in the Washington State University Library. Washington State University; 1976.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Rolla Kent Beattie was born in Ohio in 1875. He began his botanical career as a student of Charles Bessey at the University of Nebraska. He was an Instructor, then Professor of Botany, at Washington State University from 1899 to 1912, after which he joined the United States Department of Agriculture research staff at Washington, D. C. and remained there as a forest pathologist until retirement in 1946. During his retirement, he traveled extensively and began again the examinations of Northwest Flora which he had largely abandoned in 1912.

In his earlier years, Beattie’s position was mainly that of a collaborator of the more illustrious Charles Vancouver Piper. The work of the two tended to become so intermingled that the respective contributions could not be discerned. However, Beattie’s contribution appears to have been his knowledge of herbaria and literature resources, while Piper had a greater familiarity with field botany and theory. In later years, as Beattie began to see himself as Piper’s successor, his approach continued to follow the line of herbarium and library research. In fact, he took up the line suggested by the "American Rule" school to a much greater degree than had Piper. During this time Beattie amassed a vast compilation of notes on the development of Northwest botany, in which he examined virtually every treatment of all Northwest species from the initial "discovery," through any and all revisions. He also collected much biographical material relative to the various botanists concerned with Northwest Flora.

Beattie spent most of his retirement years collecting this material. His death in 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland followed four years of failing health.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Rolla Kent Beattie fall into two main area, his correspondence and his notes. His correspondence is relative to Northwest botany, and includes correspondence with C. E. Bessey, L. F. Henderson, Aven Nelson, C. V. Piper, Harold St. John, W. N. Suksdorf, and A. R. Sweetser. The major portion of this collection is a compilation of his notes and references to literature on Northwest flora and historical and biographical aspects of Northwest botany. Included in his letter-books are drafts of articles about the spread of introduced plants, as well as considerable correspondence about plants sent to Washington State University by the public for identification.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Rolla Kent Beattie Papers, 1899-1956 (Cage 318)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The first series, Correspondence, is arranged in chronological sequence. The second series, Notes, is divided into foldered materials, arranged in an alphabetical sequence of biographical subjects, and a card file which contains four parts. First, a section on Northwest flora, arranged according to a standard botanical classification arrangement, with species ordered alphabetically within each genus. A second section consists of biographical information arranged alphabetically by the names of Northwest botanists. A third section consists of extensive notes on David Douglas. Fourth is a partial geographic index of Northwest plants, arranged according to region.

Custodial History

The papers of R. Kent Beattie, 1875-1960, were donated to the Washington State University Herbarium during the period from 1956 through 1960 by Mr. Beattie.

Acquisition Information

The papers, along with those of four other Pacific Northwest botanists, were transferred to the Washington State Library in 1975 by the Marion Ownbey Herbarium on the Washington State Campus.

Related Materials

Northwest Botanical Manuscripts : an Indexed Register of the Papers, 1867-1957, of Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, William Conklin Cusick, Charles Vancouver Piper, Rolla Kent Beattie, and Harold St. John in the Washington State University Library. Washington State University; 1976.

Washington State University Botanical Papers, 1881-1973 (Cage 53)

Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf Papers, 1867-1935 (Cage 315)

William Conklin Cusick Papers, 1906-1924 (Cage 316)

Charles Vancouver Piper Papers, 1888-1926 (Cage 317)

Harold St. John Papers, 1912-1957 (Cage 319)

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Correspondence, 1899-1956Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
175 items.
1899-1906
1 2
225 items.
1907-1910
1 3
180 items.
1911-1915
1 4
150 items.
1915-1956
2 5
Letterbook
1 volume.
1904 May-1905 July
2 6
Letterbook
1 volume.
1906 April-1907 January

Series 2: Northwest Botany NotesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box
3
Abbot, E. K.
3
Abrams, LeRoy
3
Agassiz, Alexander
3
Agricultural History
3
Allen, Miss A. J.
3
Anderson, A. C.
3
Applegate, Elmer J.
3
Austin, Mrs. R. M.
3
Bailey, Liberty Hyde
3
Ball, John
3
Banks, Sir Joseph
3
Barclay, George
3
Barett, Mrs. P. G.
3
Barnhart, John Hendley (biographies)
3
Baronoff, A. A.
3
Bartram, William
3
Baumgarten, Hermann
3
Bebb, M. S.
3
Beechey, F. W.
3
Belcher, Capt. Sir Edward
3
Benson, Lyman
3
Bentham, George
3
Berthand, E. L.
3
Bessey, Charles
3
Bethel, Ellsworth
3
Bigelow, Jacob
3
Billings
3
Blake, William P.
3
Blasdale, W. C.
3
Bloodgood, C. Delavan (Sitka)
3
Bolander, Hendry N.
3
Bolton, H. E. (ANZA)
3
Bongard (at Nootka)
3
Bonneville, B. L. E.
3
Brackenridge, W. D.
3
Bradbury, John
3
Brainerd, Ezra
3
Brandegee, T. S. and Brandegee, Katherine
3
Brandel, Joseph
3
Brewer, William H.
3
Britton, Nathaniel Lord
3
Brodie, David
3
Brown, Jennie Broughton
3
Brown, Robert, of Campster
4
Brown, Robert, of Campster
4
Burke, Joseph
4
Butters, Frederick King
4
Caldwell, Joseph
4
Cannon, Evalina
4
Carruth, W. W.
4
Chamissot de Boncourt, Adlebertus
4
Christ, J. H.
4
Christensen, Carl
4
Clayton, John
4
Collins, J. Franklin
4
Collinson, Peter
4
Coltman-Rogers, Charles
4
Compton, T. B.
4
Cook, Capt. James
4
Cooley, J. G.
4
Cooper, J. G.
4
Coulter, John Merle
4
Coville, Frederick
4
Curtis' Botanical Magazine
4
Cusick, William Conklin
4
Dachnowski-Stokes, A. O.
4
Damon, Samuel
4
Dana, James D.
4
Darlington, H. T.
4
David, Abbe
4
Davis, Mrs. N. J.
4
Dayton, William a.
4
Delacour, Jean
4
Delano, Amasa
4
Demofras, Duflot
4
Dewey, Chester
4
Dietz, H. F.
4
Diller, J. S.
5
Douglas, David
4 Folders
6
Douglas, Sir James
6
Douglas, Robert
6
Douglas, William O.
6
Donaldson, A. B.
6
Drake, Capt. Francis
6
Drummond, Thomas
6
Eastwood, Alice
6
Eaton, Amos
6
Eaton, Walter P.
6
Edwards' Botanical Register
6
Eggleston, Willard W.
6
Elmer, A. P. E.
6
Englemann, George
6
Epling, Carl
6
Ermantinger, Edward
6
Eschscholtz, Johan
6
Espinoza y Tello, Jose
6
Etches, Jon
6
Evans, John
6
Fernald, M. L.
6
Findler, Augustus
6
Flett, J. B.
6
Forbes, Charles
6
Franchere, Gabriel
6
Fraser, Simon
6
Fremont, John C.
6
Frye, Else M.
6
Fuller, George W.
6
Gabrielson, Ira N.
6
Gairdner, Meredith
6
Gambel, William
6
Gannett
6
Gardners' Magazine (London)
6
Garry, Nicholas
6
Geiser, Samuel Wood
6
Geology of the Pacific Northwest
6
Geyer, Karl Andreas
6
Ghent, W. J.
6
Gibbs, George
6
Golder, Frank A.
6
Good
6
Gorman, M. W.
6
Gould, Dorothy Fay
6
Gray, Asa
6
Gray, Capt. Robert
6
Gray Herbarium
7
Greene, E. L.
7
Griffith, David
7
Haenke, Thaddaeus
7
Hancock, Samuel
7
Harshberger, John William
7
Hartwig, Theodor
7
Hatch, W. R.
7
Hayden, F. V.
7
Hecata, Bruno
7
Heller, Amos Arthur
7
Hemenway, Ansel
7
Henderson, L. F.
7
Henky, Alexander
7
Hilgard, Eugene Waldemar
7
Hitchcock, A. S.
7
Holway, E. W. D.
7
Hone, D. S.
7
Hooker, Joseph Dalton
7
Hooker, William Jackson
7
Horsford, F. H.
7
Hough, J. B.
7
House, Homer D.
7
Howard, L. O.
7
Howell, John T.
7
Howell, Thomas and Howell, Joseph
7
Hudson's Bay Company
7
Hulten, Eric
7
Ingram, D. C.
7
James, Edwin
7
Jefferson, Thomas
7
Jennings, O. E.
7
Jepson, Willis Linn
7
Jewitt, S.
7
Johnson, J. E.
7
Jones, George Neville
7
Jones, Marcus E.
7
Juan de Fuca
7
Judson, Katherine
7
Kalm, Peter
7
Kauffman, Karl F.
7
Kelley, Hall J.
7
Kellogg, Albert
7
Kew Collections
7
Kimmel, Edward
7
Kin, Mattias
7
Kip, Lawrence
7
Kleeberger, George R.
7
Kotzebue, Otto von
7
La Gasca y Segura, Mariano
7
La Perouse
7
Lake and Hull
7
Lamson-Scribner, F.
7
Laut, Agnes
7
Leiberg, John B.
8
Lemmon, J. G.
8
Lesquereux, Leo
8
Lewis, Meriwether (and Clark, William)
8
Lindley, John
8
Linnean Society of London
8
Linnaeus, Carolus
8
Lobb, William
8
Luders, F. G. J.
8
Lutke, Frederic
8
Lyall, David
8
Lyman, W. D.
8
Lyons, Maj. H. G.
8
Mackenzie, Alexander
8
McKenzie, Donald
8
Macoun, John
8
Malispina Expedition
8
Mayne, R. N.
8
Marcy, Oliver
8
Maxon, William R.
8
Meader, James
8
Meany, Edmond S.
8
Meares, John
8
Meehan, Thomas
8
Meinecke, E. P.
8
Menzies, Archibald
8
Merriam, C. Hart
8
Merrille, C. D.
8
Mertens, Henry
8
Meyer, Frank N.
8
Michaux, Andre
8
Michaux, Francois Andre
8
Miyabe, Kingo
8
Mocino, D. Jose Mariano
8
Mourelle, Don Francisco Antonio
8
Munro, William
8
Murchison, Sir Roberick
8
Murray, Andrew
8
National Herbarium
8
Nautical Magazine
8
Nee, Luis
8
Neilson, Thomas G.
8
Nelson, Aven
8
Nelson, David
8
Nevius, Reuben Denton
8
Newberry, J. S.
8
Newcombe, C. F.
8
Nordhorr, Charles
8
Northwest Passage (by K. Roberts)
8
Nuttall, Thomas
8
Page, Elizabeth
8
Pallas, P. S.
8
Palliser, John
8
Palmer, Edward
8
Parish, S. B.
9
Parker, Rev. Samuel
9
Parry, C. C.
9
Paullin, Charles O.
9
Paxton, Sir Joseph
9
Peck, Morton E.
9
Pennell, Francis W.
9
Perez Expedition
9
Pickering, Charles
9
Pinch, Jeremy
9
Piper, Charles V. (General Information)
9
Piper, Charles V. (Index to Flora of Washington)
9
Piper, Charles V. (Herbarium)
4 Folders
10
Piper, Charles V. (Herbarium)
2 Folders
10
Piper, Charles V. (Index to notes, pp. 1-1131)
10
Plant introduction into America
10
Portlock, Capt. Nathaniel
10
Postels, Alexander
10
Pringle, Cyrus G.
10
Pursh, Frederick
10
Rafinesque, C. S.
10
Ramsbottom, John
10
Rees, Abraham
10
Rich, William (Hutton)
10
Richards, C. Audrey
10
Rigg, George B.
10
Rogers, H. Thomas
10
Roll, Julius
10
Rosendahl, C. O.
10
Rugel, Ferdinand
10
Ruiz, Hipolito
10
Rusby, H. H.
10
St. John, Harold
10
Sandberg, J. H.
11
Sargent, Charles Sprague
11
Schafer, Joseph
11
Scouler, John
11
Scribner, Frank (see Lamson-Scribner)
11
Seeman, Berthold
11
Seese, Martin
11
Shinn, Charles H.
11
Simpson, George
11
Smet, P. J. de
11
Smith, Alexander
11
Smith, Charles Piper
11
Smith, Jedediah
11
Sorel, Henry Andrew
11
Spalding, Rev. H. H.
11
Spaulding, Perley
11
Sperlin, O. B.
11
Spillman, W. J.
11
Sperlin, O. B.
11
Spillman, W. J.
11
Stacey, J. W.
11
Stevens, Isaac I.
11
Stevens, Neil E.
11
Stevens, O. A.
11
Stewart, Sir William G. P.
11
Strange, James
11
Sudworth, George B.
11
Suksdorf, Wilhelm
11
Swallen, Jason R.
11
Swallow, Prof.
11
Swan, James
11
Sweetser, A. R.
11
Thompson, David
11
Thorington, J. Monroe
11
Tidestrom, Ivar T.
11
Tolmie, W. F.
11
Torrey, John
11
Tuckerman, Edward
11
Tweedy, Frank
11
Vancouver, George
11
Vancouver Island
11
Vasey, George and George R. Vizcaino
11
Wagner, Henry R.
11
Whetzel, Herbert H.
11
Wildox, E. T.
11
Whited, Kirk
11
Wilkes, Expedition
11
Wilks, W.
11
Willson, Beckles
11
Wilson, Ernest
11
Winsor, Justin
11
Wood, Alonzo
11
Wood, C. B.
11
Wood, C. W.
11
Work, John
11
Wright, Charles
11
Wyeth, Nathaniel
11
Wynd, F. Lyle
11
Young Naturalists Society of Seattle
11
Zeller, S. M.
12
Type Localities
4 Folders
Geographic Notes:
Box
13
Washington State
13
Oregon
13
Idaho
13
Wyoming
13
British Columbia (Nootka)
13
California
13
Northwest America localities
Personal Notes
Box
14
British Museum (South Kensington)
14
Washington State University Herbarium
14
University of Idaho, Southern Branch, Herbarium
14
University of Oregon
14
Texas
14
Rusby Herbarium
14
California Academy of Sciences
14
Colorado Agriculutural and Mechanical College Herbarium
14
Collection in the Pacific Northwest, 1946
14
Miscellaneous notes of Northwest botany
14
Notes for Piper and Beattie's Floras, 1914-1915
Box
15
Berberidaceae
15
Circaea
15
Fagacaea
15
Impatiens
15
Mimulus
15
Tobacco
15
Plants to be looked for in the Siskiyou Mountains
Card File
Box drawer
16 1-6
Northwest Flora
16 6-7
Biographical Notes
16 7
David Douglas Notes
16 7-8
Geographic Notes

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Botanists -- United States -- Correspondence.
  • Botany -- Research -- Northwest, Pacific.

Personal Names

  • Beattie, R. Kent (Rolla Kent), 1875-1960 -- Archives.
  • Bessey, Charles E. (Charles Edwin), 1845-1915.
  • Henderson, L. F. (Louis Fourniquet), 1853-1942.
  • Nelson, Aven, 1859-1952.
  • Piper, Charles V. (Charles Vancouver), 1867-1926.
  • St. John, Harold.
  • Suksdorf, Wilhelm, 1850-1932.
  • Sweetser, Albert R. (Albert Raddin), 1861-1940.